The car is a 1987 Chevy Corvette Coupe with the Z51 factory suspension.

Hey guys I am going to get the car aligned by this guy that aligns a lot of autox cars and other fast cars but am looking for a good set up for Autocross and Road Racing but still can be driven on the street and not to radical that it eats up tires but still a fast set up. Just thought I would check to see what set ups you guys know are good. Thanks for any input.

 

Vette Brakes and Products gives some recommendations for an "Advanced Street" alignment setup for c4s on their catalog...might want to check them out.

 

Here are some alignment specs that Bill (ZF Doc) gave me. In fact, I'll be aligning mine this way next week. Suppousedly the optimum setting/s for hi-perf. street/autox on a C4:

Front:
-0.5 deg. front camber - all the front caster you can get w/ that
1/16" toe in per side

Rear:
-0.25 deg. rear camber
1/32" toe in per side

Update:
After looking at VB&P's alignment specs, not so sure about the one's Bill gave me. They sure don't coincide w/ these. Better call him and see what's up.

 

Becareful with to little toe in the rear, understeer can result. VB&P does have some specs on their page. I have run the advanced street setting the last year or two with no odd damage to the tires. I will not run that anymore though and will use the road race spec. Keep in mind that the autox spec is different then the road race spec and if you want to do both, you will have a compromise alignment. You set up the car different between autox and rr.

Run a search in the autox and rr section to, there is lots of reading there.

 

Here is a link to some allignment setups for differnt uses. It is from the Vetter Brakes and Performance outfit.

http://www.vbandp.com/instructions/h...ruct/align.htm

 

Ahhh, Here is a subject I was just about to post a question on. Not to be a thread highjacker, but I live in a small town pop. 7000ish. There is a Big O Tire in town, and a few dealerships. Tell me, do you think these people capable of aligning a corvette, or does it take special talent? Many Thanks...

 

I'd say you'll be fine...esp. if you bring in your own alignment specs.

 

Sounds great, I just didn't know if Corvettes were a PITA, or not... Thanks...

 

I use the advanced street settings in VBP at the moment, nothing really to report as far as street use, but the highway rut-riding is not quite as bad.

These things will respond to small changes in alignment on the track, moreso than alot of comparable cars of the time.

Even a bodunk shop can align these things, I had mine done in a small garage that hadnt been cleaned in a decade, but the computers he used were all up-to-date.

 

 

You'll want to ask this question in the Auto-x/Road Racing Forum. None of the above specs are particularly aggressive and in fact most fall within or very close to the factory specs albeit to the "performance side" if you want to call it that.

My car sees ~2,000 road course miles/year in addition to a couple thousand miles of street driving. I use the following...

Front
Camber: -1.8*
Caster: 6* / all you can get
Toe: 0 (a small amout of toe-out helps turn it, but can make it a bit darty on the street)

Rear
Camber: -1.5*
Toe: 1/16" toe in per side

C4s are camber challenged up front. I'd like around -2.5* up front but can't get there without offset bushings for the lower a-arms. In fact, many C4s are lucky to get -1.0* of camber in the front. It's also not unusual to have one side not be able to obtain the same amount of camber as the other.

You also need to take into account what tires you're using. If you're using some no-name tire that's not very sticky, then alignment is almost a moot point since the tires won't be up to task anyway. R compound tires like the V710 or Hoosier R6 or A6 are a different story and will benefit from all the camber you can get out of a C4.

 

I'd venture to guess that a C4 has to be about the easiest car ever to align. Hell, I could probably do it if I had the equipment. But I won't......